Bread is my mistress

a double batch after rising for an hour

OK what's the male version of mistress? Well that's what good home made bread is to me :) Sorry John... I'm cheating on you with home made bread... and I'm not even guilty about it!

Let me digress for a minute... I've been taking an intro to wheel throwing pottery class this summer (wicked fun). I've never done pottery before (unless you count painting random already made pottery when I was a kid). Let me tell you, throwing pottery is seriously fun!!! I'm still finishing glazing some pots and bowls but once I'm all done I will have made 19 of them! Woo Woo! Here's an example of my expert *cough cough* work :)



We had a big potluck dinner for our final class the other night, can you guess what I volunteered to bring?

I knew one loaf wouldn't be enough, so I made a double batch of the following recipe. This recipe is like bread for beginners. You don't have to proof the yeast or anything... just toss all the dry ingredients (including the yeast) into a bowl, mix, add the warm water and oil, kneed, let it rise for an hour... bake for 30 minutes... and you are DONE AND DONE!!! See isn't the easy? Don't' you want to go run home and make some up right now??


Sorry I don't have any inside shots, but trust me, this is some seriously tender bread with a wonderful crust, and the little bit of sea salt on top... MMMMM! MMMMMM!!!! Man I wish I had some right now... I think I need to go bake some... right now :D

The second loaf was a bit bigger than the first one... whoops! Haha, they both tasted the same though. My classmates were wicked impressed I made the bread, and also very excited that I took off work so I could make the bread fresh right before class started. Hot bread out of the oven?? Yes please! My friend Beth who is also taking the class made some of my hummus to go along with the bread. Delicious!

So don't be afraid, go try this! And you can really add any seasoning in that you have, this batch I used thyme and some red pepper flakes for a little kick!

Thyme/Rosemary Bread
I have no clue where I got this recipe... but I LOVE IT!
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme or rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour (i used king arthur bread flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one package)
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
dash of large grain sea salt to top the loaf (optional)

Add dry ingredients (salt through yeast) to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and combine. (You can do this all by hand too if you don't have a mixer, it will just take a little longer)

Warm water to 100-130 degrees. (30 seconds in the microwave works perfectly)

Create a well in the dry ingredients and add oil and warm water.

Mix dough until it cleans the sides of the bowl. Allow dough to knead on the hook in the bowl for 1-2 minutes. (If using your hands just kneed until it comes away from the counter top and is no longer sticking to your hands- it should feel a little elastic)

Coat a clean bowl with olive oil. Add dough to bowl, turn to coat, and allow to rise in covered bowl for 1 hour.

Shape dough into square or round loaf (your choice). Brush top of dough with oil and top with sea salt or any other seasonings you like.

Heat oven to 375 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with olive oil seasoned with herbs or cracked black pepper, or hummus, or ANYTHING really

yum yum yum yum yum!!!!

AND don't forget to sign up for the jam exchange if you haven't already :)